them to be such, my soul rose above the usual field of vision; it expanded in its essence and, by encompassing all things, touched degrees of Divine wisdom. But nothing was comparable to the pleasure of self-approval that came with the issuing of my orders. The chief commander I ordered to proceed with a large army to the conquest of a land separated from me by an entire zone of stars. “Sire,” he responded to me, “the very fame of your name alone will vanquish the peoples populating this terrain. Fear will precede your arms, and I shall return bearing the tribute of mighty kings.” To the chief admiral of the navy I uttered, “Let my ships scatter across the seas, let the unknown peoples espy them, let my flag be known in the North, East, South, and West.” “I shall fulfill it, Sire.” And off he flew to do my bidding like a wind created to fill the sails of a ship. “Proclaim to the most distant limits of my realm,” spake I to the guardian of the laws, “that today is my birthday, let it be marked forever in the annals as a general amnesty. Let the prisons be opened so that criminals may walk out and return to their homes as if they had strayed off the righteous path.” “Your mercy, Sire, is the image of the All-Beneficent Being. I hasten to announce the joyous news to fathers who grieve for their children and wives for their husbands.” “May there be erected,” spake I to the Chief Architect, “the most magnificent buildings as shelters for the Muses, may they be adorned with multifaceted imitations of nature; and may they prove indestructible, like these heavenly dwellers, for whom they have thus been made ready.” “O most wise,” he responded to me, “if the elements were to obey the commands of your voice and, mustering their might, were to establish in deserts and wastelands vast cities that surpass in their grandeur the most famous of antiquity, how insignificant then will the labor of the zealous implementers of your commands be. You spake, and the raw supplies of construction already obey your voice.” “Let,” spake I, “the hand of generosity be opened forthwith to shower the remains of excess on the helpless, so that superfluous treasures may be returned to their source.” “O most generous Sovereign, given to us by the Almighty, a father to your peoples, enricher of the pauper, may your will be done.” At my every utterance all those standing before me exclaimed joyously, and not only did a clapping of hands accompany my speech, but even anticipated my thought. Only one woman from the entire assembly, leaning steadily against a column, emitted sighs of woe and displayed a look of scorn and indignation. The features of her face were stern and her dress simple. Her head was covered in a hat although all the others stood bareheaded. “Who is she?” I inquired of someone standing near me. “She is a wanderer we do not know; she calls herself Straight Seer and Eye Doctor. She is, though, a most dangerous magician, bearing poison and venom, she rejoices in grief and destruction; always gloomy, she scorns and curses everyone, she does not spare in her abuse even your sacred head.” “Why, then, is such a villain tolerated in my realm? But about her—tomorrow. This day is a day of mercy and joy. Come, collaborators in supporting the heavy burden of ruling, take up a generous recompense for your labors and triumphs.” Whereupon, rising from my seat, I conferred various signs of honor on those present; and the absent were not forgotten, but those who when called presented themselves with a pleasant expression had a larger share in my benefactions.
Following this I continued my speech: “Let us go, pillars of my power, fundaments of my might, let us go take delight after work. It is befitting for one who toils to partake in the fruit of his labors. It befits a Tsar to partake in joys, for he showers many on everyone. Show us the path to the jubilee you have prepared,” spake I to the organizer of festivities. “We shall follow you.” “Halt,” declared the female wanderer from her place. “Halt and approach me. I am a physician sent to you and others like you so that I might cleanse your vision.—What cataracts!” she exclaimed.—An unknown force compelled me to walk to her despite the fact that everyone surrounding me hindered me, even to the point of using force.
“On both of your eyes,” said the wanderer, “there are cataracts, but you passed judgment on everything so decisively.”31 And then she touched both my eyes, and removed from them a thick film like a corneous layer. “You see,” she said to me, “that you were blind, you were completely blind.—I am the Truth. The Almighty, moved to pity by the groaning of people over whom you reign has sent me from the heavenly sphere so that I could remove the darkness hampering the penetration of your gaze. I have fulfilled this. All things now will appear in their natural guise to your eyes. You will penetrate to the inmost of hearts. The serpent secreted in the crannies of souls can no longer hide from you. You will know your faithful subjects, those who far from you love not you but love their Fatherland: those who are always ready for your defeat if it will avenge the enslavement of man. But they will not stir up civic order untimely or needlessly. Summon them to you as friends. Banish the arrogant mob who surrounds you and who hide the disgrace of their soul with gilded raiments. For they are the real villains who obscure your vision and block my entrance to your halls. I appear to kings only one single time during their reign so they might recognize me as I am; but I never abandon the dwellings of mortals. My
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